Abstract
Background/Objectives
Doctors and medical students with colour vision deficiency (CVD) are less capable and less confident at identifying colour in a wide range of clinical scenarios, some of which could be potentially life-threatening. There have been numerous calls for screening and counselling over the last 25 years.
Subjects/Methods
Surveys were sent to all 33 UK medical schools and 154 acute trusts, to ascertain what screening and support exists for doctors with CVD. The response rate was 95%.
Results
1.4% of acute trusts and 16.7% of medical schools screen for CVD. 3.4% of trusts and 10.0% of medical schools had CVD-specific advice which they give to medical professionals. Guidance and advice given varied widely between different schools and trusts.
Discussions
Despite research showing a clear problem and lack of support for doctors with CVD, there has been a failure to respond by the medical profession. Screening, national guidance, counselling, and further research is needed to provide full support for practitioners with CVD and ensure patient safety.
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Data availability
Full dataset available from the corresponding author.
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NJR initiated and designed the project, reviewed collected literature, designed the data collection tools, monitored data collection, drafted and revised the paper. He is the guarantor. BTM assisted with the project design, collected literature, implemented data collection, analysed the quantitative data and revised the draft paper. NKH assisted with the project design, collected literature, implemented and analysed data collection, and revised that draft paper. GH assisted with the project design, collected literature, implemented data collection, analysed the qualitative data and revised the draft paper.
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Raynor, N.J., Hallam, G., Hynes, N.K. et al. Blind to the risk: an analysis into the guidance offered to doctors and medical students with colour vision deficiency. Eye 33, 1877–1883 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41433-019-0486-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41433-019-0486-z
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